Car-door



oooooo e1.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 1. 'J. W. ORUMBAUGH & L. O. PRATER. OOOOOO R.

No. 443,956. Patented Dec. 30, 1890.

SSSSSS ES (No Model.)

2 SheetsShge't 2. J. W. ORUMBAUGH & L. O. PRATER.

GAR DOOR.

Patented Dec. 30, 1890 WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS UNITED vSTATES PATENT rates.

JOHN \V. CRUMBAUGH AND LEANDER PRATER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

CAR-DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,956, dated December 30, 1890.

Application filed June 26, 1890. Serial No. 356,897. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN XV. CRUMBAUGH and LEANDER O. PRATER, of Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention is in the nature of an improvement in car-doors and especially the doors of stock-cars; and it is designed to fatcilitate the opening of the doors, to strengthen them when closed, and to provide a bridge for enabling the cattle to pass in or out. in loading or unloading.

To these ends it consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts which we will now proceed to describe with reference to the drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the cardoor as opened and adjusted for loading or unloading. Fig. 2 is a front view of the same when closed, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the closed doors.

A represents the side of a car to which is applied our improved car-door, which is made in three sections-a section B, which is hinged to one of the stationary jambs of the car, a sliding section B, which slides on guides at the top and bottom, and a hinged section B which is hinged to the sliding section B. The hinged sections B B? are secured by long stationary vertical pintle-rods a and perforated straps or plates 1), through which the rods pass to form a strong hinge-joint that cannot be easily broken or uujointed. The sliding section B is provided at its bottom with shoes or bearing-surfaces c, that slide upon the edge of a horizontal guide-rail O, firmly attached to the lower side of the car, and the upper end of this sliding section is provided with a rib (Z, with enlarged heads d d at the ends, that slide in a slottedhorizontal guide-tube-D, fixed to the upper side of the car.

In the edge of each hinged section of the door, near its lower end, there is formed a slot which is re-enforced upon the inner side by a plate 6, that forms a keeper for a long vertical bolt E, and is also re-enforced upon the outer side by a slotted plate e, which has a lateral notch e at its upper end, into which from bursting open the fastenings of the hinged doors by pressing against the latter. This cross-bar is capable of being dropped down to the level of the car-floor and of ex tending outwardly therefrom at a slightly-inclined or dipping position to form a bridge or gangway for the passage of the cattle into or out of the car. For these uses a metal rod f is secured to this bridge at one edge and projects beyond its ends, and the ends of this rod extend into slots in vertical metal plates g, fixed to the jambs of the doors. At the ends of this bridge, near the side opposite this rod, are formed stout lugs or ears h, which, when the bridge is in a vertical position and acting as a cross-bar, drop into notches 1', formed in the jambs of the door and re-enforced by metal plates.

1" are rings forming hand-holds by which the combined bridge and cross-bar is manipulated.

The operation of our invention is as follows: If the doors are closed, as in Fig. 2, the hinged sections are opened by raising the bolts and throwing the doors back on their hinges. The movable hinged section B and sliding section B are then slid back on the guides together. The cross-bar F is then raised by its handles until its lugs pass out of the notches in the door-jambs, and itis then lowered bodily and let down into the posit-ion of a gangway or bridge leading from the level of the car-floor out to the platform or pen beside the railroad-track. The hinged doors are brought parallel to the ends of the bridge or gangway, and to hold them to this position their bolts are dropped down through the ears or lugs of the bridge, which lugs are perforated for this purpose.

The advantages of our invention are as follows: The hinged doors and bridge form together a complete gangway or chute for loading or unloading cattle, preventing them from falling down between the car and the platform, which frequently happens and often results in the crippling of the cattle. The bridge being also permanently connected to the car, it cannot be kicked out of place nor can the feet of the crowding animals get caught between the car-floor and the bridge. The hinged doors also open readily, no matter how much dirt and bedding may be piled against them, and yet the cross-bar prevents the pressure of the cattle from exercising any strain upon said doors. 7

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new is 1. The combination, with a car, of a hinged door connected to one of the stationary jainbs, and a sliding door having a corresponding hinged section, substz'intially as shown and described.

2. The combinatiomwith a car-door, of a combined bridge and cross-bar connected to the jainb, as described, so as to slide integrally therein and adapted to be fastened across the door-space or be let down to form a bridge or gangway, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a car-door having slotted plates at the lower edges of its jainbs and locking seats or notches above, of a combined bridge and cross-bar having a rod with ends playing in said slotted plates and lock ing-lugs for said seats or notches, substan tially as shown and described.

4. The combination,in a car,of a combined bridge and cross-bar F, having perforated lugs at its ends, and hinged doors having vertical bolts adapted to pass through the perforated lugs to hold the doors to the ends of the bridge and form a chute or gangway, substantially. as described.

JOHN \V. CRUMBAUGII. LEANDER O. PRATER. \Vitnesses:

PATRICK J. IIEDDERMAN, WILLIAM P. PENNELL. 

